This $2500 Chrysler Conquest Looks Like A Cartoon Ripped From The Pages Of ‘Initial D’

Up for grabs on Facebook Marketplace is a really neat kind of art car. For just $2,500 you can drive home in a 1988 Chrysler Conquest TSi. Ok, sure, this is beginning to sound a bit like a Shitbox Showdown but hear me out. This rusty Chrysler has been painted to look like it has been ripped straight out of the pages of a Japanese manga magazine. Crank up the Eurobeat, redline that engine, and get sideways as you become a real-life character from Initial D!

This find comes to us from my good friend, Austin Little. I’ve been mesmerized by the car ever since. It’s fascinating how a simple theme can make a car so much more interesting to look at. Even better is the fact that you can grab this machine for just $2,500. It’s a cheap running and driving car with some sweet art; what’s not to love?

The Theme

For those of you in the audience who have no idea what I’m talking about, I’ll explain what’s going on here. The best way to describe this car’s paint job is “manga-style.” Mangas are Japanese multi-panel comics or graphic novels and they have captivated readers for at least a century.

As Artscape Japan writes, the foundations for manga were likely laid in the 12th and 13th centuries. Many cite Choju-Jinbutsu-Giga (“Caricatures of Animals and Humans”) as some of the earliest forms of manga and they were drawn on four ten-meter scrolls. Those Choju-Giga depicted animals behaving like humans, from running on two legs to archery tournaments, engaging in a sumo competition, and even racing each other while swimming.

Other depictions show realistic people and animals acting like animals. Some historians believe these depictions laid the groundwork for manga, others question its influence.

Books of drawings would continue to appear through Japanese history but reportedly, the term “manga” wouldn’t begin to be used until the late 18th century to describe comics. In that era there were also Kibyōshi, or “yellow covers,” illustrated books that covered adult topics. According to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, “man” or 漫 translates to “whimsical” while “ga” or 画 means pictures. Manga can be educational, entertaining, and even propaganda-filled. The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh notes that into the 20th Century, the Japanese government censored and even shut down some manga publishers. In World War II, Manga was used to promote Japanese imperialism. Manga as we know it today began to take shape in the early 1900s, and today the art is enjoyed by fans in Japan and all over the world.

For the purposes of this Chrysler, we should look at perhaps the most popular depiction of cars in manga: Initial D. Illustrated by Shuichi Shigeno and serialized in manga magazine Weekly Young Magazine with an original run spanning from 1995 to 2013, Initial D focuses on Japanese street racing. Car publication Gazoo interviewed Shingeno, where he showed that he’s a real gearhead. Shingeno loved motorcycles and this resulted in Bari Bari Densetsu, a manga about motorcycle street racing that ran from 1983 to 1991 in 38 volumes.

After the 28-million copy success of Bari Bari Densetsu, Shigeno continued illustrating, creating three more works. Those didn’t sell well. Then, it was suggested that since Shigeno loved cars, why not make his next work about cars? After Bari Bari Densetsu, Shigeno decided to buy a car. His father was loyal to Toyota, and Shigeno decided to follow in those footsteps. At the time, the Sprinter Trueno AE86 series was introduced, and Shigeno could afford to buy one. Shigeno bought an AE86 and after work, he would drive the vehicle in the mountains of the Gunma prefecture in the hours before dawn when there was no traffic.

When Shigeno began illustrating Initial D, his AE86 was some of his inspiration. Since then, Initial D sold 48 volumes and 48 ​​million copies. What started as a story about gas station clerks and a tofu delivery driver drifting their way through the mountains has become a worldwide sensation. Initial D has been adapted into anime, movies, video games, and even live-action films. Along the way, Eurobeat music from the anime would become hits of their own, with famous examples like Deja Vu, Gas Gas Gas, and Running In The 90s.

This Art Car

The art style of Initial D is famous and one of the elements you’ll see are cars drawn like they’re going fast with the sorts of lines you’ll see on this 1988 Chrysler Conquest TSi. Sitting still, this car looks like it’s going so fast that it’s going to rip its own paint off. This style looks fantastic on paper and on screen and I think even better in real life.

The base car here is a Conquest. This car isn’t a darling of Diamond-Star Motors, but one of the many Mitsubishis that Chrysler loved to import back in the 1980s. Launched in 1982, the Mitsubishi Starion was a sporty car with a wedge-shaped design, technology like fuel injection, a turbocharger, and rear-wheel-drive.

When developed into a race car, the Starion found plenty of success to be proud of. A Starion 4WD variant won its class at the 1983 Paris-Dakar Rally. That was followed up with a first in its class at the 1984 Milles Piste Rally, second in its class at the 1986 Hong Kong-Beijing Rally, first in the 1987 Himalayan Rally, third in the 1987 Oman Rally, and other good finishes in other races.

Here in America, you could buy a Mitsubishi Starion or if you wanted, you were able to stroll into your local Chrysler, Dodge, or Plymouth dealership and buy a Starion as a Conquest. This Conquest TSi comes equipped with a 2.6-liter G54B turbo four making 188 HP and 234 lb-ft torque. That’s backed by a manual transmission. A leather interior was optional for these and many buyers opted for it. The original owner of this car did not. That said, you do get a pretty sweet boost gauge, a stereo with an equalizer, and three-point seatbelts.

These cars often sell for close to $10,000 with pristine examples going for above $30,000. What’s the catch? Well, the seller says the car needs some work. The interior of this 135,000-mile car is missing a few bits, the front bumper is damaged, and you can find rust holes on the body. It’s unclear what other work it needs, but the seller says this car could be driven as is or be used as a parts car. [Editor’s Note: I’m fairly sure these are known for having head gasket issues. -DT]. 

What I do like is how the art is hiding the damage. The rust and the other cosmetic issues seem to be hidden by the bold art, which is pretty cool. I’m now imagining Midwestern car owners covering up rust with drawn-on speed lines and I love it. This Conquest has given me an idea to do this to a Smart.

If you have some Initial D dreams, the seller wants just $2,500 for the artsy Conquest, which almost seems like a deal in this market. And if you really love a Conquest TSi, the seller has a second cleaner non-art car for sale and you can get both cars for $9,000. Still, this car seems pretty neat. It’s a running and driving car with flair for dirt-cheap! So, pick this guy up, start getting sideways, and crank that Eurobeat.

(Images: Facebook Seller, unless otherwise noted.)

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